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Devolution #1-5
Devolution
Every living creature on Earth has been devolved - the evolutionary clock turned back, reverting all life to odd mutations and prehistoric incarnations. The cities of man are little more than bloody territories ruthlessly dominated by tribal Neanderthals ruling from the backs of mammoths, packs of saber-toothed tigers, and giant man-eating insects. Raja, one of the few remaining "Still Sapien" humans, heads to San Francisco to find the antidote for the world-changing DVO-8 viral agent. But to cross the wasteland, she'll have to convince the last pocket of humanity to join her quest... and survive the Nazi hillbillies that rule them through fear!
Rick Remender, the acclaimed writer of Black Science, Low, and Deadly Class, unleashes a high-octane dystopian masterpiece on the world, featuring the brilliant artistry of Jonathan Wayshak!
Rick Remender, the acclaimed writer of Black Science, Low, and Deadly Class, unleashes a high-octane dystopian masterpiece on the world, featuring the brilliant artistry of Jonathan Wayshak!
186 pages, ebook
First published August 10, 2016
16 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Rick Remender
1,241 books1,405 followersRick Remender is an American comic book writer and artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. He is the writer/co-creator of many independent comic books like Black Science, Deadly Class, LOW, Fear Agent and Seven to Eternity. Previously, he wrote The Punisher, Uncanny X-Force, Captain America and Uncanny Avengers for Marvel Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
May 31, 2023
This volume compiles issues 1-5 in the Devolution series.
This graphic novel is set in the future but it feels like the past. Prehistoric monstrosities battle against the humans still remaining, after Earth's evolutionary clock had been reversed and everything still surviving devolved. A cure could be found but not all want power returned to the wealthy or for authority to rest in the hands of those it once did.
I loved the genesis of this story just as much as I did the trajectory of it. It was a bloody and brutal tale, in keeping with the existence of those still remaining, but also one full of small moments of joy and hope. The humour was bleak, the scenes often dark, and death marred each page as well as the lives of all individuals. However, the vivid storytelling and depictions kept it, and the central character's fleeting hope, alive until the conclusion.
This graphic novel is set in the future but it feels like the past. Prehistoric monstrosities battle against the humans still remaining, after Earth's evolutionary clock had been reversed and everything still surviving devolved. A cure could be found but not all want power returned to the wealthy or for authority to rest in the hands of those it once did.
I loved the genesis of this story just as much as I did the trajectory of it. It was a bloody and brutal tale, in keeping with the existence of those still remaining, but also one full of small moments of joy and hope. The humour was bleak, the scenes often dark, and death marred each page as well as the lives of all individuals. However, the vivid storytelling and depictions kept it, and the central character's fleeting hope, alive until the conclusion.
December 28, 2016
-Digital copy gently provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review-
1,5 shocking stars
What a mess. A virus invented to erase the religion from humans ...wha?? (yes, a really farfetched premise for a story full of cliches who you could encounter in a midnight "z-movie") transformed the humanity in mad neardenthals , and mutating the rest of biosphere into jurassic park. Yeah, pseudoscience evading all idea of logic. As if neanderthals won't be able to invent some kind of myth and rites (religion) :roll eyes::.
The heroine, Raja, is trying to get to San Francisco to obtain the cure. In the journey she encounters a compound of loosely named 'still sapiens' (think in every extremely violent dystopia ) and the troubles magnify. Murder, rape, slavery, you named it. And disgunting body parts flying everywhere.
So, they are worth it to save?
The story advanced with very little information, the characters cartoonish (evil-evil) ; Raja is obsessed and not really relatable. The drawing is really loose, going for shocking and confusing.
Not my kind of story.
And the end?? So- so- WTF?
1,5 shocking stars
What a mess. A virus invented to erase the religion from humans ...wha?? (yes, a really farfetched premise for a story full of cliches who you could encounter in a midnight "z-movie") transformed the humanity in mad neardenthals , and mutating the rest of biosphere into jurassic park. Yeah, pseudoscience evading all idea of logic. As if neanderthals won't be able to invent some kind of myth and rites (religion) :roll eyes::.
The heroine, Raja, is trying to get to San Francisco to obtain the cure. In the journey she encounters a compound of loosely named 'still sapiens' (think in every extremely violent dystopia ) and the troubles magnify. Murder, rape, slavery, you named it. And disgunting body parts flying everywhere.
So, they are worth it to save?
The story advanced with very little information, the characters cartoonish (evil-evil) ; Raja is obsessed and not really relatable. The drawing is really loose, going for shocking and confusing.
Not my kind of story.
And the end?? So- so- WTF?
July 3, 2016
2.5 stars?
Okay so this wasn't really what I was expecting. I'm going to *TRY* and explain the premise, but bear with me....
To stop wars, scientists have developed a serum capable of deactivating the religious part of your brain, but it went very wrong. People "infected" started to "revert" back to their stone age forms (i.e. they physically and mentally morphed into cavemen. POOF, just like that). Oh and they also passed it to animals and plants. Earth is basically the last few homo sapiens running from giant neanderthals, giant spiders, giant mosquitoes, giant crickets, giant neo-nazis, and flesh-eating plants. Those are giant too, by the way.
Throw in some kind of conspiracy, the Moon, some kind of conspiracy ON the Moon, a magic serum that could fix everything, a ragtag group of people without names whose only role is to die in gruesome ways (hello bloody eyeballs), plot holes, naked butts, some more far-fetched science and you've got yourself Devolution.
Sadly, I will not continue with the series. :(
ARC provided by NetGalley. Opinions stated in this review are purely about the ARC and have nothing to do with the author himself! :)
Okay so this wasn't really what I was expecting. I'm going to *TRY* and explain the premise, but bear with me....
To stop wars, scientists have developed a serum capable of deactivating the religious part of your brain, but it went very wrong. People "infected" started to "revert" back to their stone age forms (i.e. they physically and mentally morphed into cavemen. POOF, just like that). Oh and they also passed it to animals and plants. Earth is basically the last few homo sapiens running from giant neanderthals, giant spiders, giant mosquitoes, giant crickets, giant neo-nazis, and flesh-eating plants. Those are giant too, by the way.
Throw in some kind of conspiracy, the Moon, some kind of conspiracy ON the Moon, a magic serum that could fix everything, a ragtag group of people without names whose only role is to die in gruesome ways (hello bloody eyeballs), plot holes, naked butts, some more far-fetched science and you've got yourself Devolution.
Sadly, I will not continue with the series. :(
ARC provided by NetGalley. Opinions stated in this review are purely about the ARC and have nothing to do with the author himself! :)
September 11, 2016
Spanis review at the bottom
Every time I take a book that poses an apocalyptic world my rule is to seek believe the world it creates, although in some cases it is extremely easy, others go to the bottom because the absurdity of his approach ... and then comes Devolution, which not only is a total WTF ‘cause the world but with absolutely everything that happens.
This begins with creating a serum that eliminates the religious part of the human brain
Then they tell us that what this serum actually did was involution the human race, basically turning them into Neanderthals
Gradually this decline in the evolutionary process "contagious" to all living creatures on the planet
But there is still a girl, that suffers the syndrome "last man on earth" willing to find a cure for this serum.
In general terms it has the basic structure of any story started by an epidemic, but BUT is developed in a way so previously view that gets boring, and turns nut introduced are so forced and illogical that your head can only think
And the very little credibility that the story still has go to hell along with your desire to continue reading.
Also, if you reach to the end, you'll find the most rare, stupid and illogical thing that the writer could imagine It doesn’t have any sense !!! None, not even in this bizarre world and misconceived sense.
The drawing is functional, good enough to display correctly what is happening and, while isn’t great, is even great for this crap story.
A digital copy of this book was provided by NetGalley
_____________________________________________________
Cada vez quetomo un libro que plantea un mundo apocaliptico tengo por regla tratar de creerme el mundo que crea, si bien en algunos caso es tremendamente fácil, otros van al fondo por lo absurdo de su planteamiento…y luego viene Devolution, que no sólo es un WTF total con su mund sino con absolutamente todo lo que pasa.
Esto empieza con la creación de un suero que elimina la parte religiosa del cerebro humano
Luego nos indican que en realidad lo que este suero hizo fue involucionar a la raza humana, convirtiendolos básicamente en neandertales
Paulatinamente este retroceso en el proceso evolutivo se “contagia” a todas las criaturas vivientes del planeta
Pero aun queda una chica que sufre del sindrome “ultimo hombre sobre la tierra” dispuesta a encontrar la cura para esta horrible enfermedad
En terminos generales tiene la estructura básica de cualquier historia destada por una epidemia, pero PERO se desarrolla de una manera tan vista que se vuelve aburrido, y los giros de tuerca introducidos son tan forzados e ilogicos que tu cabeza solo puede pensar
Y la poquísima credibilidad que le quedaba a la historia se va al infierno, junto con tus ganas de continuar leyendo.
Además, si llegas al final, te encuentras la cosa más extraña, estupida e ilogica que el escritor pudo imaginar ¡¡¡Es que no tienen ningun sentido!!! Ninguno, ni siquiera en este bizarro y mal planteado mundo tiene sentido.
El dibujo cae dentro de lo funcional para mostrar sin problemas lo que esta pasando y, aun sin ser una maravilla, le queda grande a esta historia de porquería
A digital copy of this book was provided by NetGalley
Every time I take a book that poses an apocalyptic world my rule is to seek believe the world it creates, although in some cases it is extremely easy, others go to the bottom because the absurdity of his approach ... and then comes Devolution, which not only is a total WTF ‘cause the world but with absolutely everything that happens.
This begins with creating a serum that eliminates the religious part of the human brain
Then they tell us that what this serum actually did was involution the human race, basically turning them into Neanderthals
Gradually this decline in the evolutionary process "contagious" to all living creatures on the planet
But there is still a girl, that suffers the syndrome "last man on earth" willing to find a cure for this serum.
In general terms it has the basic structure of any story started by an epidemic, but BUT is developed in a way so previously view that gets boring, and turns nut introduced are so forced and illogical that your head can only think
And the very little credibility that the story still has go to hell along with your desire to continue reading.
Also, if you reach to the end, you'll find the most rare, stupid and illogical thing that the writer could imagine It doesn’t have any sense !!! None, not even in this bizarre world and misconceived sense.
The drawing is functional, good enough to display correctly what is happening and, while isn’t great, is even great for this crap story.
A digital copy of this book was provided by NetGalley
_____________________________________________________
Cada vez quetomo un libro que plantea un mundo apocaliptico tengo por regla tratar de creerme el mundo que crea, si bien en algunos caso es tremendamente fácil, otros van al fondo por lo absurdo de su planteamiento…y luego viene Devolution, que no sólo es un WTF total con su mund sino con absolutamente todo lo que pasa.
Esto empieza con la creación de un suero que elimina la parte religiosa del cerebro humano
Luego nos indican que en realidad lo que este suero hizo fue involucionar a la raza humana, convirtiendolos básicamente en neandertales
Paulatinamente este retroceso en el proceso evolutivo se “contagia” a todas las criaturas vivientes del planeta
Pero aun queda una chica que sufre del sindrome “ultimo hombre sobre la tierra” dispuesta a encontrar la cura para esta horrible enfermedad
En terminos generales tiene la estructura básica de cualquier historia destada por una epidemia, pero PERO se desarrolla de una manera tan vista que se vuelve aburrido, y los giros de tuerca introducidos son tan forzados e ilogicos que tu cabeza solo puede pensar
Y la poquísima credibilidad que le quedaba a la historia se va al infierno, junto con tus ganas de continuar leyendo.
Además, si llegas al final, te encuentras la cosa más extraña, estupida e ilogica que el escritor pudo imaginar ¡¡¡Es que no tienen ningun sentido!!! Ninguno, ni siquiera en este bizarro y mal planteado mundo tiene sentido.
El dibujo cae dentro de lo funcional para mostrar sin problemas lo que esta pasando y, aun sin ser una maravilla, le queda grande a esta historia de porquería
A digital copy of this book was provided by NetGalley
August 16, 2025
How many dystopian future books do we really need from Rick Remender? Especially, one as shoddily put together as this. All of the characters are gross caricatures. The plot is just get across the country to save the world. The premise doesn't make much sense. Halfway through the settings moves to outer space? What? The art looks like a cross of Sam Keith and Kelly Jones.
Received an advance copy from Dynamite and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Received an advance copy from Dynamite and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 7, 2025
Мені давно до вподоби творчість Ріка Ремендера, за його здатність поєднувати масштабні ідеї з людяними історіями. «Чорна наука» вразила шаленим ритмом, різноманітністю світів і болісною сімейною драмою, «Токійський привид» — душевною глибиною та кіберпанковим світом. Навіть «Дно», попри неоднозначність особисто для мене, мало свою атмосферу. Тож до коміксу «Деволюція» я підійшов з ентузіазмом: ще одна антиутопія, цього разу з доісторичним відтінком. Але результат виявився повним фіаско.
Земля занурилась у справжній доісторичний кошмар: вірус DVO-8, створений із благородною (чи навпаки?) метою — запустив процес деградації. Люди, тварини й рослини повернулись до примітивних форм — неандертальці, гігантські комахи і ще купа схожої біди. У цьому хаосі одна з небагатьох людей, дівчина на ім’я Раджа, прямує до Сан-Франциско, аби випустити в світ антивірус. Але дорогою доведеться зіткнутись із псевдонацистами, внутрішніми демонами та сюжетом, що тане на очах.
Абсолютно все, що відбувається після експозиції, викликає або подив, або роздратування. Світ, що спершу здався цікавою антиутопією, швидко перетворюється на збірку «випадкових» сцен, де сюжет просувається через натягнуті повороти, а персонажі гинуть у гротескний спосіб без емоційного резонансу. Кульмінація — повна нісенітниця, схожа на насмішку над самою ідеєю цього коміксу. Може й була така задумка, але мені вона не сильно до вподоби.
Головна героїня Раджа — донька науковця, який створив вірус, — потенційно мала би бути цікавою постаттю. Але в реальності вона — лише створена для руху оповіді. Її мотивація виглядає шаблонно, а всі навколишні персонажі — або карикатурні, або просто статистика для кривавих смертей. Немає жодної емоційної глибини, жодного моменту, коли віриш або співпереживаєш персонажам.
Візуально комікс тримається в рази краще за сюжет. Джонатан Вейшак створює світ, повний агресії, дикості, деталей — усе клекоче й дихає небезпекою. Похмурі кольори, спотворені обличчя, інтенсивні сцени боїв — усе це виглядає ефектно. І якби історія була більш зібраною, малюнок міг би легко підсилити її. Як результат, він просто "тягне" на собі невдалий сценарій.
«Деволюція» — це ідея, яка мала потенціал, але перетворилась на самопародію. Замість глибокої історії про зникнення розуму й повернення до дикості минулого ми отримали примітивну, хаотичну історію без логіки та з перенасиченням насилля. На тлі інших творів Ремендера, цей комікс виглядає як концепт, який не мав би виходити за межі чорновика. Найгірше з усього прочитаного у нього.
October 28, 2019
Scientist believe religion is the cause of all of humanities problems and by releasing a serium they will be able to eliminate all human belief. The serium had severe consequences and made everything on earth devolve. The daugther of one scientist makes it her mission to find and release the antidote her father left behind.
This is a violent and vicious graphic novel meant for adults. If your taste run a little darker and the premise sounds like something you might enjoy then give it a try. This story gave me a Walking Dead vibe but without zombies. I enjoyed the story but I felt like the plot moved slowly. They were often delayed on their search for the antidote. The plot twist at the end was interesting.
I also felt like the death, rape and destruction was a little over done, and I dont usually mind a dark bloody story. However I understand it was mentionned to show humanities worst traits. The artwork painted a picture of cruelty and brutality. I could see it in the characters facial expressions. I like the artwork but I think the cruelty made me more detached from the characters.
This is a violent and vicious graphic novel meant for adults. If your taste run a little darker and the premise sounds like something you might enjoy then give it a try. This story gave me a Walking Dead vibe but without zombies. I enjoyed the story but I felt like the plot moved slowly. They were often delayed on their search for the antidote. The plot twist at the end was interesting.
I also felt like the death, rape and destruction was a little over done, and I dont usually mind a dark bloody story. However I understand it was mentionned to show humanities worst traits. The artwork painted a picture of cruelty and brutality. I could see it in the characters facial expressions. I like the artwork but I think the cruelty made me more detached from the characters.
July 2, 2016
Meh.
The art was cool. There are also mosquitoes the size of cows, which, when you think about it, is rather terrifying.
There just wasn't a whole lot of story here and the bit that was present didn't bring anything new to the table. Not that a story always has to be new - it just felt like maybe these guys were just going for the 'ol shock value tactic. It didn't work. At least not for me - it just felt juvenile.
The art was cool. There are also mosquitoes the size of cows, which, when you think about it, is rather terrifying.
There just wasn't a whole lot of story here and the bit that was present didn't bring anything new to the table. Not that a story always has to be new - it just felt like maybe these guys were just going for the 'ol shock value tactic. It didn't work. At least not for me - it just felt juvenile.
August 7, 2016
While an interesting eh, setting? I wasn't impressed with the dialogue or how this unfolded. Artwork was strong through out, but unfortunately bad writing killed it for me.
I received an advanced copy of this from NetGalley.com and the publisher
I received an advanced copy of this from NetGalley.com and the publisher
August 14, 2016
Full review to come!
July 16, 2016
The main plot of this was interesting but the crude art and crappy characters really ruined it quickly for me. I usually like Remender's work but this was his worst I have read.
January 11, 2018
The author takes great joy in criticizing capitalism for its imaginary economic games, industrialization for poluting the planet, people for their stupidity and desire to make war for often unimportant things and religion for sparking wars. Given the devolution of civilization, science came in to fix the cause of the degradation. The politicians decided it was religion. Scientists developed a way to remove people's religious belief by modifying an area of the brain. The devolution spread to the whole body instead. Humans were devolved to the shape and behavior they had in prehistoric times. The virus infected animals as well and, within a year, it spread to the whole planet.
Does it sound cool so far? That's because it's the only good part of the story. The main character wants to heal the world with a cure and will be chased by a madman the whole way. The over-the-top violence and mediocre twists keep bringing down my score for this comic. Then you have the revelation at the end that ruins it completely. I guess the story could have been meant as a caricature of humanity. Then it would match the exagerrated artwork. Still, it was less entertaining than it could have been when the focus was switched from survival in a post-apocalyptic setting, to dumb firefights and giant mosquitos.
Does it sound cool so far? That's because it's the only good part of the story. The main character wants to heal the world with a cure and will be chased by a madman the whole way. The over-the-top violence and mediocre twists keep bringing down my score for this comic. Then you have the revelation at the end that ruins it completely. I guess the story could have been meant as a caricature of humanity. Then it would match the exagerrated artwork. Still, it was less entertaining than it could have been when the focus was switched from survival in a post-apocalyptic setting, to dumb firefights and giant mosquitos.
September 23, 2018
I loved reading this. It was a commentary on how humans will overgrow and over consume our environment. And then who will be in power and what systems will we rely on to exist in this new world. Awesome art. It is bit much with the gore and the hillbilly leaders. But isn't that what we see on twitter today, how the leader of the free world is not much better?
I really enjoyed it, but didn't really think the ending was as strong as it could have been.
I really enjoyed it, but didn't really think the ending was as strong as it could have been.
July 21, 2021
the art is really good, i enjoy the altered characters, but the narrative is weak and feels like a summation rather than an entire story. the concept is not very significant. do you move to the deep space midway through the contexts? what? the art looks like such a crossover between kelly and sam keith.
Read
August 7, 2016"Pointlessness, blood and stupidity" is protagonist Raja's summary of the story's events, and who am I to argue? She's attempting to undo the apocalypse her father caused by creating an agent intended to remove the world's prime source of conflict by attacking the part of the brain associated with religious belief. Now, that premise is the one goodish thing here, because even as someone who agrees that removing organised religion from the world would probably be a very good start, I can see that would have other and unfortunate consequences. Probably not these ones, though. Everything starts devolving, so people become Neanderthals and animals become monsters (this despite most animals being evolved from other, defined animals rather than weird mutant monsters, last I checked). Oh, and invertebrates 'devolve' into giants capable of bringing down helicopters, because apparently the square-cube law no longer applies either. This could have been explained quite cleverly as being because there's nobody around aware of the square-cube law anymore...but no, no mention of it, I think it's mainly just because Wayshak likes drawing monsters. And violence, and boobs, all done with the gusto of someone exposed to too much Simon Bisley at a formative age. If you liked the mess his imitators made of 2000AD for a while in the nineties, you'll love Devolution. But, of course, in any post-apocalyptic horror setting, it's not the environment that's the real enemy, but the other human survivors. In something like The Walking Dead or a good Crossed story, you get wonderfully delineated portraits of what survival can drive humans to do; here you get redneck neo-Nazis having the time of their life now there's nobody to stop them, which is hardly implausible but doesn't really say much, either. Maybe this mere nastiness is stuff Remender had to get out of his system before addressing the difficulty and possible futility of hope in his far more nuanced and powerful Low. But as is, it just reads like a teenage bro's attempt to write 'Crossed - plus monsters!'
(Netgalley ARC)
(Netgalley ARC)
March 14, 2025
Read full review at: https://thereadingarmchair.blogspot.c...
Give me a good dystopian story and I'll be very very happy! That's why I was very excited to get to read Devolution.
This comic book takes place in a world where scientists used the chemical DVO-8 to devolve humanity and stop the ongoing wars. Along with humanity though, all other creatures on earth were devolved, resulting in Mammoths, giant spiders, and giant mosquitoes among others.
This is the world where we meet our protagonist, Raja. She is very determined to reach her father's lab that supposedly had the only revo serum that would re-evolve life on Earth. On her way, she meets a group of people that for some unexplained reason didn't devolve. This is where we meet Gil, who is the evilest villain you can imagine. So evil, in fact, that he seemed like a caricature.
Devolution was definitely a dark and brutal comic book. Despite its strong premise though, it failed to deliver anything that would explain the story. For example, why were these people intact by DVO-8? In addition to this, I found Gil so unbearable, and I would have liked less focus on him.
What I did enjoy though, was the final twist of the book. When Raja reaches the moon, she discovers a truth she's not ready to learn. If the comic had more moments like this, then I would have been more invested in the story.
In conclusion, Devolution has something fascinating going on. It's worth a try if you want to read a dark dystopian story. However, I wouldn't set my expectations high as you won't get all the answers you will have.
Give me a good dystopian story and I'll be very very happy! That's why I was very excited to get to read Devolution.
This comic book takes place in a world where scientists used the chemical DVO-8 to devolve humanity and stop the ongoing wars. Along with humanity though, all other creatures on earth were devolved, resulting in Mammoths, giant spiders, and giant mosquitoes among others.
This is the world where we meet our protagonist, Raja. She is very determined to reach her father's lab that supposedly had the only revo serum that would re-evolve life on Earth. On her way, she meets a group of people that for some unexplained reason didn't devolve. This is where we meet Gil, who is the evilest villain you can imagine. So evil, in fact, that he seemed like a caricature.
Devolution was definitely a dark and brutal comic book. Despite its strong premise though, it failed to deliver anything that would explain the story. For example, why were these people intact by DVO-8? In addition to this, I found Gil so unbearable, and I would have liked less focus on him.
What I did enjoy though, was the final twist of the book. When Raja reaches the moon, she discovers a truth she's not ready to learn. If the comic had more moments like this, then I would have been more invested in the story.
In conclusion, Devolution has something fascinating going on. It's worth a try if you want to read a dark dystopian story. However, I wouldn't set my expectations high as you won't get all the answers you will have.
July 27, 2016
I am sorry, but... what is this? The premise of this comic was good, but it failed in its execution. Let's see: in order to end wars humanity creates a kind of virus that erases the belief in God in hte brain. But it goes out and humans devolve into neandertals (crazy and aggresive ones), the animals also devolve (so... which animal does devolve into dinosaurs?), and so does the plants and so on. I didn't know Earth could devolve, mind you.
And there is this woman, who is still a homo sapiens (why? Are there inmunes?) who fins a pocket of civilization (inmunity again?) who think like Nazies (almost too American/ second WW like) and convinces them to go out for a cure. And during the search they go to Jurassic Park and get attacked by all kinds if incredible fauna... not really. There is no Jurassic Park. But there is dinosaurs, giant insects, and crazy detailed deaths.
Also there is something going on the moon, where decontamination is necessary, and there is this individual who instead of... dying? or whatever it was needed because she was contaminated, decides to get herself to Earth.
And... not much more, really. Sadly, this comic fails to deliver, and it failed to engange me in any way. Needless to say, I won't continue reading this serie.
And there is this woman, who is still a homo sapiens (why? Are there inmunes?) who fins a pocket of civilization (inmunity again?) who think like Nazies (almost too American/ second WW like) and convinces them to go out for a cure. And during the search they go to Jurassic Park and get attacked by all kinds if incredible fauna... not really. There is no Jurassic Park. But there is dinosaurs, giant insects, and crazy detailed deaths.
Also there is something going on the moon, where decontamination is necessary, and there is this individual who instead of... dying? or whatever it was needed because she was contaminated, decides to get herself to Earth.
And... not much more, really. Sadly, this comic fails to deliver, and it failed to engange me in any way. Needless to say, I won't continue reading this serie.
August 19, 2016
I received this book for free from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this one. I am such a sucker for science fiction and dystopian stories, and this one was right up my alley. I absolutely loved the premise for this story. The world devolving back to a primitive state- everything! The people turn into cavemen, there are woolly mammoths running around, huge plants and vegetation that takes over everything, gigantic bugs and arachnids...it's just spectacular. Seeing an apocalyptic world like this is just awesome. The gritty, in your face artwork really impressed me as well. I think that it was the perfect style for this type of story. While I think that the origins and the baseline for the story could have been elaborated on, it was still a great read. I definitely recommend giving this a try!
More reviews on my blog: The Alchemy of Ink
I really enjoyed this one. I am such a sucker for science fiction and dystopian stories, and this one was right up my alley. I absolutely loved the premise for this story. The world devolving back to a primitive state- everything! The people turn into cavemen, there are woolly mammoths running around, huge plants and vegetation that takes over everything, gigantic bugs and arachnids...it's just spectacular. Seeing an apocalyptic world like this is just awesome. The gritty, in your face artwork really impressed me as well. I think that it was the perfect style for this type of story. While I think that the origins and the baseline for the story could have been elaborated on, it was still a great read. I definitely recommend giving this a try!
More reviews on my blog: The Alchemy of Ink
December 26, 2017
The premise was very interesting and novel. Implementation wasn't too great but was still a good read.
Note - I received a free copy of the book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review in any way.
Note - I received a free copy of the book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review in any way.
July 5, 2016
Meh. The art is quite good, I like the devolved creatures but the story is empty and feels more like a synopsis than an actual story
July 26, 2016
This has an interesting premise. Almost all of the species on Earth have been devolved except for a select few. Can't wait to see where it goes for here.
August 26, 2016
Fantastic, vibrant art. Great story. All-around A+
August 4, 2018
I have made a terrible mistake by picking this book. I was drawn in by the description of the book, and recalled the writer had worked with Marvel, I should have remembered the feedback he received on many of those titles - I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, but apparently not.
This book is exactly the reason why comic books have such a bad reputation and why so many women feel uncomfortable with the comic book industry. This is misogynist nonsense to the max, and honestly, I am shocked beyond compare that I bothered to read this, and worse finish it.
You know all the things that 'Mad Max: Fury Road' did right with the whole dominating tyrant and the sex slaves angle; yeah, this book is the polar opposite of that. You throw in copious amounts of gratuitous sleaze. You're not writing a commentary on the evils of men living in a dystopia, you're writing stuff for the male gaze to enjoy.
You also draw men, human and neanderthal, in all shapes and sizes; but the women, one-size-is-all. Why? They're not a special species who come in stick-figure size. I also noted that you don't show any neanderthal females - which makes no sense to me.
And let's not start with the gratuitous nudity. At the end of the book, in the script you write that you do not want to show a man's junk, but you're more than happy to have a woman's assets shoved in our faces during said scene. And, not only that, you disgustingly make sure that she is completely naked for the several panels showing her being attacked and kidnapped by the neanderthals.
And later on you gratuitously have Raja stand about stark naked, with her breasts prominent in several panels, for absolutely no reason. What was the point of that?
Add to this the diversity in this book does nothing to up the racial biases of comics. You have the most non-Asian looking man ever play a doctor who is constantly insulted and humiliated. And you have a Saudi Arabian character called Raja - you do know there is no way a Saudi Arabian would be called Raja, right? That is a Sanskrit/Hindi word, she would have to be Indian. Research!
I am so appalled by this book.
This book is exactly the reason why comic books have such a bad reputation and why so many women feel uncomfortable with the comic book industry. This is misogynist nonsense to the max, and honestly, I am shocked beyond compare that I bothered to read this, and worse finish it.
You know all the things that 'Mad Max: Fury Road' did right with the whole dominating tyrant and the sex slaves angle; yeah, this book is the polar opposite of that. You throw in copious amounts of gratuitous sleaze. You're not writing a commentary on the evils of men living in a dystopia, you're writing stuff for the male gaze to enjoy.
You also draw men, human and neanderthal, in all shapes and sizes; but the women, one-size-is-all. Why? They're not a special species who come in stick-figure size. I also noted that you don't show any neanderthal females - which makes no sense to me.
And let's not start with the gratuitous nudity. At the end of the book, in the script you write that you do not want to show a man's junk, but you're more than happy to have a woman's assets shoved in our faces during said scene. And, not only that, you disgustingly make sure that she is completely naked for the several panels showing her being attacked and kidnapped by the neanderthals.
And later on you gratuitously have Raja stand about stark naked, with her breasts prominent in several panels, for absolutely no reason. What was the point of that?
Add to this the diversity in this book does nothing to up the racial biases of comics. You have the most non-Asian looking man ever play a doctor who is constantly insulted and humiliated. And you have a Saudi Arabian character called Raja - you do know there is no way a Saudi Arabian would be called Raja, right? That is a Sanskrit/Hindi word, she would have to be Indian. Research!
I am so appalled by this book.
December 29, 2020
NetGalley provided me with a digital copy in exchange for an honest review. (Reseña en español más abajo)
EN - I found the premise of this comic very interesting, despite the silly justification of "ending war by ending faith" that way. To me, it was all about the journey, not the starting point, and I think Raja's quest to find a solution to the virus was pretty successful, entertaintment wise. It had some narrative deficiencies, such as the weak justification I mentioned at the start or how little the current situation is explained, but I didn't feel like it needed much more explanations.
It is not an unforgettable comic, a masterpiece, nor a unique story, but I really don't think that's what the author was looking for either. Overall, I found Devolution to be a fun read for an afternoon, pure entertainment with an atractive style and coloring.
ES - La premisa de este cómic me parecía bastante interesante, a pesar de la tonta justificación de "terminar la guerra acabando con la fe" del modo en que lo hacían. Para mí, lo importante de esta historia era el camino, no el principio, y creo que con la aventura de Raja para terminar con el virus quedamos más que satisfechos, en lo referente a entretenimiento. Tiene algunas carencias narrativas, como la debilidad de su punto de partida o la poca explicación sobre el contexto en que Raja se encuentra actualmente, pero lo cierto es que tampoco necesitaba más explicaciones.
No es un cómic inolvidable, una obra de arte ni una historia única, pero tampoco creo que eso fuera lo que buscaba el autor. En general, Devolution me ha parecido una lectura divertida para una tarde, puro entretenimiento acompañado de un estilo y color atractivos.
Reseña completa: https://cartasalacultura.blogspot.com...
EN - I found the premise of this comic very interesting, despite the silly justification of "ending war by ending faith" that way. To me, it was all about the journey, not the starting point, and I think Raja's quest to find a solution to the virus was pretty successful, entertaintment wise. It had some narrative deficiencies, such as the weak justification I mentioned at the start or how little the current situation is explained, but I didn't feel like it needed much more explanations.
It is not an unforgettable comic, a masterpiece, nor a unique story, but I really don't think that's what the author was looking for either. Overall, I found Devolution to be a fun read for an afternoon, pure entertainment with an atractive style and coloring.
ES - La premisa de este cómic me parecía bastante interesante, a pesar de la tonta justificación de "terminar la guerra acabando con la fe" del modo en que lo hacían. Para mí, lo importante de esta historia era el camino, no el principio, y creo que con la aventura de Raja para terminar con el virus quedamos más que satisfechos, en lo referente a entretenimiento. Tiene algunas carencias narrativas, como la debilidad de su punto de partida o la poca explicación sobre el contexto en que Raja se encuentra actualmente, pero lo cierto es que tampoco necesitaba más explicaciones.
No es un cómic inolvidable, una obra de arte ni una historia única, pero tampoco creo que eso fuera lo que buscaba el autor. En general, Devolution me ha parecido una lectura divertida para una tarde, puro entretenimiento acompañado de un estilo y color atractivos.
Reseña completa: https://cartasalacultura.blogspot.com...
April 15, 2025
I was going to give this a plain 3 stars, but I think that may be a bit too harsh, so 3.5 stars overall - I very much like the idea behind this (the sentiment definitely chimes); the environment and flora & fauna requiring a reset due to the damage inflicted by humanity in all its greed, pollution and warfare, but I guess it's too damned blunt, from Jonathan Wayshak's Bisleyesque art to Rick Remender's on-the-nose script that wallows a bit too much in the bloodthirsty (& gratuitous) Nazi-led compound leader Gil + minions.
Jae Lee's covers are the best thing about this series to be honest.
Raja is the orphaned daughter of scientists who developed a chemical called DVO-8 that was released worldwide years before - when we meet Raja on her quest to get to San Fransisco battling through the American landscape where nature has reclaimed much of our buildings, concrete and technological outcrops, she has recently lost her brother to the creatures that prey on, well, everything apparently. We follow her unfortunate interactions with what remains of humanity and those de-evolved to neanderthals (with their mammoths) as she wants to carry out her dad's last wish and release a 'revolution agent' to undo the work of the DVO-8 chemical...I didn't see the next to last reveal/twist coming, but I wasn't invested in the characters enough to be honest, to care that much.
An interesting rather than a hugely rewarding read.
Jae Lee's covers are the best thing about this series to be honest.
Raja is the orphaned daughter of scientists who developed a chemical called DVO-8 that was released worldwide years before - when we meet Raja on her quest to get to San Fransisco battling through the American landscape where nature has reclaimed much of our buildings, concrete and technological outcrops, she has recently lost her brother to the creatures that prey on, well, everything apparently. We follow her unfortunate interactions with what remains of humanity and those de-evolved to neanderthals (with their mammoths) as she wants to carry out her dad's last wish and release a 'revolution agent' to undo the work of the DVO-8 chemical...I didn't see the next to last reveal/twist coming, but I wasn't invested in the characters enough to be honest, to care that much.
An interesting rather than a hugely rewarding read.
August 2, 2017
'Devolution' by Rick Remender along with Jonathan Wayshak and Jae Lee is one of those graphic novels where you just have to go with the premise. If you stop to think too hard about the premise, it will all unravel.
It is the future and just about everything has been devolved by science. It was determined that violence was caused by belief in religion, so devolving people would get rid of this in them (refer to my first paragraph about "going with it"). Raja, a human, has survived by being alert and violent. She is on her way to the West Coast of the United States where she knows there is a way to reverse this weird virus. Getting there is hampered by neanderthal-like humans, violent plants and giant evolved insects.
If my description doesn't give you the sense that this whole thing is over the top, then I have erred. Jonathan Wayshak's art is hurried and intense. There is gore and violence and other R-rated content throughout. It feels like the kind of thing that got thought of during a late night brainstorming session with just a few too many energy drinks. It's definitely not for everyone, but I kind of liked it.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
It is the future and just about everything has been devolved by science. It was determined that violence was caused by belief in religion, so devolving people would get rid of this in them (refer to my first paragraph about "going with it"). Raja, a human, has survived by being alert and violent. She is on her way to the West Coast of the United States where she knows there is a way to reverse this weird virus. Getting there is hampered by neanderthal-like humans, violent plants and giant evolved insects.
If my description doesn't give you the sense that this whole thing is over the top, then I have erred. Jonathan Wayshak's art is hurried and intense. There is gore and violence and other R-rated content throughout. It feels like the kind of thing that got thought of during a late night brainstorming session with just a few too many energy drinks. It's definitely not for everyone, but I kind of liked it.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
July 16, 2025
Up until recently, I would’ve call myself a Rick Remender “truther.” But now, I’m not so sure.
I had to tape my eyes open to make it through “A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance” and suffice it to say that “Devolution” was worse. Much, much worse.
The story was all over the place: plot points coming out of left field, countless contrived examples of deus ex machina, poor character development, and just plain bad storytelling.
Remender is renowned for layering social commentary in his comics, and Devolution is no different. But it’s all just noise; the roar of the dinosaur. Technology bad. Media bad. Government bad.
I’ve had enough grandstanding. I don’t want more radical leftist SJW canon fodder. I want the anarchist. The rebel. Because if I have to deal with the whiner any more — I might just have to call it a day.
I had to tape my eyes open to make it through “A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance” and suffice it to say that “Devolution” was worse. Much, much worse.
The story was all over the place: plot points coming out of left field, countless contrived examples of deus ex machina, poor character development, and just plain bad storytelling.
Remender is renowned for layering social commentary in his comics, and Devolution is no different. But it’s all just noise; the roar of the dinosaur. Technology bad. Media bad. Government bad.
I’ve had enough grandstanding. I don’t want more radical leftist SJW canon fodder. I want the anarchist. The rebel. Because if I have to deal with the whiner any more — I might just have to call it a day.
March 6, 2021
Ugh, seriously just read something else. I’m a Remender fan but this is an epic fail unless a world full of Barnie Rubble’s with beer guts and perpetual hard ons is your thing. Dystopian is a term that is overused and rarely well done so I should have known to stay away after reading the cover. Consider yourself warned. I’m trying to save you the pain of WTF did I just read. The artwork really is beautiful in style if not in the rendering of the story but you can’t hold an artist responsible for that if they didn’t do the layouts. If not for the art, I would have given it one star.
June 15, 2017
It's full of cliches, one dimensional characters, gratuitous violence, degradation, and gore. It's like reading a shitty action movie. The premise is interesting but the plot is full of holes and things happen that just don't make sense given the situation. But, it titillates and entertains. That's enough. Not everything has to be a literary masterpiece to be good.
December 21, 2019
This was an interesting idea for a story, but it was a tad rushed making it hard to care about any character, as well as being quite violent, but it is a survival story so I can deal with some of it. The art was par for the course, nothing special there.
If you like distopia, give it a try. Hoopla has it and its a quick read, so no harm in looking!
If you like distopia, give it a try. Hoopla has it and its a quick read, so no harm in looking!
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